Songs from 2010 - Part 7 - Sorrow

Do I take The National for granted? Is it their fault that High Violet didn't seduce me like Boxer? Did I have unreasonable expectations?

Yes, my friends, High Violet let me down. I expected a home run and got a triple. Understand, I listened to Boxer so much. I like Boxer more than I like a lot of you. Four of its tracks are in my iTunes top 25 playlist. I don't even want to get into iPod plays. Good fucking record.

The first two songs to go public from High Violet were "Runaway" and "Bloodbuzz Ohio." I got stoked. I replayed them over and over. I thought about ways in which I would use the lyrics in my online profiles. And then I developed too-high expectations for High Violet. 

The songs that came later are texturally rich ("Conversation 16"), immaculately paced ("Little Faith"), haunting ("Afraid of Everyone"), and triumphant ("Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks"). There are some weak tracks, too. Some lines in "Anyone's Ghost" are lame, and the allure of "Lemonworld" is lost on me. 

Mostly, I have positive things to say, as you can see. I think, for now, I'll let High Violet grow on me and become a part of The National's catalog on its own terms. I look forward to any new material the band releases; I look forward to High Violet being their second-to-newest album.

Here's "Sorrow." You know it. You love it. It reminds me of Boxer but with that sonic High Violet stamp. All of the things I really liked about High Violet (the drumming, the backing vocals that sound like whispers) are present, and some of the things I didn't like (lyrics repeated to death, namely) aren't. Get down with your sad self because sorrow found you when you were young.

Are any of y'all with me on this? 

Did you buy the double LP? Definitely my favorite piece of vinyl of 2010.

Still one of the best live acts going. Drink too much white wine and go see them.

Vinyl news #8

I'm feeling pretty good about August. Tomorrow, Cap'n Jazz is playing Wicker Park Fest. On Monday, I embark on a week-long trip to New York City (NYC). The road trip stops for an evening in Columbus, Ohio to see The National. In case you're uninformed, The National is just about the best band out there. They're doing the High Violet victory lap right now, and they totally deserve it.  It's ironic that we're seeing them in Ohio because they live in the NYC neighborhood we're trippin' to (Williamsburg, Brooklyn). Insert Bloodbuzz Ohio joke here.

For a lot of people, The National's discography starts with Alligator, and that's fine. Gator is their first really good record. But some die hard fans might be all like: oh no sir, I must say you're wrong. Enter Brassland. They released The National's first two LPs: The National and Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers. While good records, they don't really capture what makes The National so great. Pretty glad they dropped the twang from the debut and tightened everything up for Alligator. 

The best songs (IMO): The Perfect Song, Theory of the Crows, Fashion Coat, Lucky You.

Vinyl completists will be happy to know Brassland reissued their first two records on pretty colored vinyl with posters and matte jackets and digital download codes. /500. Or on black.

And here's the link. Act quickly because colored vinyl is running out. I got that fa'sho.

Pat's dos and don'ts of Pitchfork Fest 2k9

Last year, I gave you some advice about how to spend your precious weekends in Chicago. This year, I have constructed a tidy list of dos and don't s to help make P4K extra special!

DO - See the National. They haven't put out a record in a long time, but this new video of a new song suggests that their new record will be more of the same. IOW, awesome.

DON'T - Wear jeans, long sleeves, carry an unnecessary umbrella, or act like the Coachella Wizard.

DO - See Fucked Up. The put out a good record last year, and they rule live!

DON'T - Forget to drink water. Especially whilst under the influence of magical mushrooms.

DO - See Mew. Their record Frengers is seriously awesome. Here's an example. They will most likely kill it, as opposed to...

DON'T - See Japandroids or The Very Best when you could be watching the Thermals. You should probably skip The Walkmen, The Black Lips, Beirut, and basically every other band in order to watch the Flaming Lips, M83, and Vivian Girls. But wait, you're saying, doesn't Vivian Girls sound a lot like some of the aforementioned bands? Yes, they do, but this is my blog, and if you want to write about one of the other thousand garage revival bands out there, be my guest.

DO - Go to the first day. Obviously, it's going to be sweet.

Lollapalooza looks pretty dumb. Won't be going. It sucks to miss The Beastie Boys. How bad are Silversun Pickups and Thievery Corporation? Enough. Have fun.

P4k - July 17-19, Union Park, not a whole lot of money
Lolla - August 7-9, Grant Park, a whole lot of money

30 Minute Weekend Playlist (4/10/09)

The last time I did one of these things was almost a year ago, so excuse me if I'm rusty. I wanted to review a couple records, but I can always get to that later. The first track is from Dan Deacon's new record Bromst. I like this guy's music and all, but certain songs rule so much more than others and this is one of them. Sometimes his jams make me feel like I'm locked inside the playgrounds for the under-5 crowd at Six Flags. "Blank Slate" is from The Virginia Ep and I believe it's the B-side to the Mistaken for Strangers single, but whatever. That Iron & Wine song is easily one of his best; it's from the Dark Was the Night LP that I've been spinning nonstop. It's one of those songs with a familiar melody and you're all like, he must have stolen that shit. If you don't know Antony & The Johnsons by now you better get outta town. He's been tearing it up for like 4 years at least. Vijay Iyer is a young pianist that plays with Rudresh Mahanthappa (remember when I blogged about him?). If you're into angular piano-jazz with f'd-up phrasing (and who isn't?), Vijay's your man. The other songs are incidentals that will help get your weekend rolling along smoothly. Will's running the marathon in Champaign tomorrow- I hope he doesn't listen to this playlist for inspiration. He should be listening to Terror.

Review: The National - A Skin, A Night / The Virginia EP

A month ago, I thought about properly reviewing Boxer, my heads-and-shoulders AOTY from 2007. I intended to call it "Boxer as religious experience" as an ode to both the band and David Foster Wallace. I'm glad I didn't go through with the title, but one day, I would like to write about why Boxer is such a special record. Of course, I wouldn't be the first to try and explain it away, and that's where Vincent Moon steps in.

A Skin, A Night is a worthy companion to Boxer. The film follows The National as they write, record, and tour during the creation of their newest LP. If you're expecting interviews and straightforward multi-camera live videos, you came to the wrong place. I think the National like to be enigmatic (is that too obvious?) . Matt's lyrics depend so much on the listener's interpretation, so why shouldn't the documentary? That being said, it's quite abstract. Sometimes I feel like Moon let the camera run at arbitrary places and then shut it off when the good parts were about to come. I admire the editing, of course, and it looks really pretty. Still, the DVD left me wanting a little more. Guess I'll wait until 2010 for the next LP.

The Virginia EP, collects Boxer b-sides, unreleased jams, and live performances. Chances are, you bought the package for the CD anyway. And it's good. "You've Done it Again, Virginia" is a fine opener, though I'm happy it was cut from Boxer. The next four songs are very good. My favorite is probably "Blank Slate," the b-side from that 7-inch they did. Word of warning: the "Slow Show" demo is pretty lame. I know a lot of "Slow Show" fetishists, and if that's you, my advice is to steer clear.



PS - Matt Berninger seemed like a wreck while making Boxer. In a way, it's comforting to me. Not everyone can leave their self-consciousness at the door. Music is fucking scary, man.

30 Minute Weekend Playlist (4/11/08)

Welcome University of Illinois mothers to my blog! It’s Mom’s Weekend- a very special time for students to bond with their moms through alcohol and the Staysh. My mom’s not coming, but if she was, we’d definitely listen to my weekend playlist.

We’re not classy people, but we can listen to classy music. Jazz is classy. I’ve put on a song from Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus to bring the class up. It’s jazzy, hip, and in the groove. Didn’t Spoon rip off Mingus recently? The other song is from Sunday at the Village Vanguard by Bill Evans and his trio. The bassist died a few weeks (or days) after recording this record, and it’s pretty much legendary. So get into it (the groove).

I must also point out that this week’s playlist has two songs from Dodos. Dodos just put out a record called Visiter that is really cool. Figure out how to get a hold of that and let’s talk about it. Let’s work it out. Happy Friday, happy Mom’s Weekend, see ya’ll on Green St. Keep it classy Champaign, and if you can’t, pretend.

1. New Found Glory – Shadow
2. Clipse ft. Spanish Lee – We Got it 4 Cheap
3. Charles Mingus – Theme for Lester Young
4. Dodos – Park Song
5. The National – Brainy (Alternate)
6. Bill Evans Trio – My Romance (Take One)
7. Dodos - Undeclared

Get it here!

30 Minute Weekend Playlist (3/28/08)

Long time, no weekend playlist! I’m sorry about that, but I did not want to post one over spring break. Speaking of, how was everyone’s break? I picked up some crucial vinyl over the past month, including: Alkaline Trio – Goddamnit Redux (Red/black out of 500), Panda Bear – Person Pitch LP, Dykehouse – Midrange LP, Blacklisted – Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God (Clear/green out of 200, record release), The National – Alligator LP, and Saves the Day – Under the Boards LP (Green out of 300) is in the mail.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me tell you about my playlist choices. We start with a great Chameleons song I found via Harsh Distractions (link to the right). This week is a sort of crash course on all things Robert Pollard. He is the lead singer of Guided by Voices and has a thriving solo career now that GBV broke up. With over 1000 songs to his name, he is quite prolific. Other bands on the mix include XO Skeletons, Electric Wizard, The National, and the Beach Boys. The last two songs are particularly exciting. McCoy Tyner is a fantastic jazz pianist that goes unnoticed in most music circles that I’m a part of. The last song is my new favorite from the Blacklisted LP. It is called “Wish.” Sorry, but this is from the leak, so the mix at the beginning is sloppy. The problem was handled on the LP, which you can order at Deathwish. Happy weekend everyone. Tell me how the Repos, PITF, WN, and others were. Try not to hate on MLIW too much, they’re a good band. Adios!

1. The Chameleons – The Fan and the Bellows
2. Robert Pollard – I’m a Strong Lion
3. The Beach Boys – Here Today
4. XO Skeletons – Asthmagasm
5. Electric Wizard – Satanic Rites of Drugula
6. The National – Fashion Coat
7. Guided By Voices – Game of Pricks
8. Robert Pollard – U.S. Mustard Company
9. McCoy Tyner – Impressions
10. Blacklisted – Wish

Get it here!